GUEST BIO

Dr. Peter Jones: The Da Vinci
Dilemma

The 700 Club

The Da Vinci Code has been a New York Times bestseller for the 56
weeks. More than 7.6 million copies have been sold, and there's a movie based
on the book being discussed in Hollywood to be produced by Ron Howard. The
author, Dan Brown, claims that the book is a work of fiction but that the
theories discussed in his book have merit. The Da Vinci Code is purported
to be a thriller that indicates Christianity was founded on a cover-up and
that the church has been conspiring for years to hide evidence that Jesus
was a mere mortal. Fearing that this best-selling novel may be sowing doubt
about basic Christian beliefs, churches, clergy, and Bible scholars are rushing
to rebut it. Brown also asserts that Leonardo da Vinci imbedded clues in his
art that, when discovered and correctly interpreted, would reveal the truth
about Christ.

Much of the fascination with The Da Vinci Code is due to the archaeological
discoveries of the Gnostic gospels. These texts are anti-biblical and were
written by early Christians whose beliefs departed from the Gospels in the
New Testament. They clearly contradict Christianity, which, for today's society,
provides a liberating religious option. One can be a "new" Christian
who keeps the best of both worlds. The plot of Brown's novel is a twist on
the ancient search for the Holy Grail. It denies the divinity of Jesus, and
even suggests that Jesus and Mary had a sexual relationship that produced
children. For many, these notions are new and startling, but more than anything,
the novel is introducing readers in our postmodern society to some of the
debates that have gripped scholars of Christian history for decades.

OLD BATTLE, NEW CULTURE

Peter says there's nothing new about this twist on Christianity, but there
has been no other attack like this novel that discredits Jesus, the Bible,
and basic Christian doctrine. He believes it's time to separate fact from
fiction. "It's naïve to dismiss the significant influence that this
neo-pagan worldview is having on the media, education, and politics,"
says Peter. "Beliefs do impact how we live and the choices we make."

Peter says that Brown's novel was written from a religious ideology and is
not a neutral fictional tale. "We refer at times to da Vinci's code,
but for the most part, we call it Brown's code, for we believe Mr. Brown is
the original source of this code, not Leonardo," says Peter. "It
is a propaganda piece for a religious worldview," he says.

The real significance of the book is its clear intention to undermine the
very foundation of biblical faith and to establish in its place an opposing
religious system. If Brown were simply making up a plotline and including
far-fetched fantasy, then Peter says a response would not be necessary. But
Brown maintains that all he has written is real. "There is a reason Brown
wants to stress his work is factual. He wants you to come away with a new
mindset," says Peter. Brown questions all traditional historical fact
claiming that the church wrote much of history.

Society's problem with the message of the Bible forces people to reinterpret
or rewrite history. In Brown's "new" version of history, power hungry
bishops with political aims take over the church and create a Bible in the
image of their personal theological choices. The Da Vinci Code uses
a fictional structure to get its own message across. While seeming to advocate
a search for truth at any price, its real goal is to erode one of the fundamental
characteristics of the Christian faith - belief that the original message
of the Gospel is the unique, inspired word from God.

When searching the truth, Peter says be careful to ask questions that
increase discernment, not that feed skepticism. Use guides of the novel
and have a Bible handy for research. (At the end of Peter's book, there
is a reader's guide to The Da Vinci Code.)